What does it mean to run the race? Does a man run every day and every minute of the day? Walking is ordinary, but running is something extraordinary. Walking is a daily demand; normally, we walk step by step. Running, however, is not a daily thing. On a racecourse we have to quicken our pace. The normal capacity of the body can support our walk, but in running the body is called upon to put forth extra effort. The normal capacity of the body has to be stretched in order to take care of the extra need. At such times the body needs to obey. In running, the body is asked to supplement its normal functions with extra energy. Running imposes additional demands on the body. The demand on our body is not as strenuous during normal times of walking; it only becomes strenuous when the body has to run. In the same principle, we may need only eight hours of sleep during ordinary times. But if our work requires that we work four more hours one day, we should be satisfied with only four hours of sleep. This is what it means to run the race. To run the race means to meet the extra demands. When the three disciples failed to watch with the Lord, He pointed out the trouble to them: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (v. 41). What good is there in having a willing spirit if the flesh is weak? A willing spirit and sleeping flesh amount to the same thing as an unwilling spirit and sleeping flesh; both amount to nothing. It is not enough for the spirit to be willing; the body has to be willing as well. If the body is not willing and insists on sleeping, it is no longer one's slave. If the body is not a slave, it would be futile to claim that the spirit is willing. This is not to say that the body is the source of sin or that it is an encumbrance. We are saying that, for the sake of serving the Lord, there are extra demands on the body at times, and the body should rise to meet these demands. This is what it means to make our body our slave. We must train our body not just to meet ordinary demands but to have an extra supply when there are extra demands.

When the Lord was on earth, Nicodemus came to Him by night. The Lord could receive him without succumbing to tiredness. A few times He spent whole nights in prayer. All these activities interfered with His sleep. We are not advocating that God's children should make a habit of spending nights in prayer. But if a man wants to serve the Lord, it is a shame if he never spends a night in prayer. It is wrong to constantly spend the night hours in prayer. If you are doing this, you are heading the wrong way. But it is a strange thing to serve God for ten or twenty years without having once prayed all night long. We are not advocating the extreme way. We are not telling people to pray throughout the night all the time. Making a habit of praying all night long is damaging to the body and even to the mind. We do not agree with those who do not pray during the day but who give up their sleep at night for prayer; this is not normal. But if a worker of the Lord never gives up his sleep for prayer, there is something wrong with him also.

Running in a race is not a daily thing, but exercise is a daily thing. We have to exercise to the point that our body will no longer rebel against us but will be subject to us. If we have never exercised in this way and our body is never put under control, sleep will become our first priority when we set out for our work. Our sleep will become our master. If others do not touch our sleep, we can do anything. But as soon as others touch our sleep, we cannot do anything. It is imperative that a servant of God exercise himself to make his body his slave. To make our body our slave means that when the Lord has a need and a demand, and when circumstances call for it, we can put aside the demands of our body temporarily. We can direct our body to provide the extra supply, to ignore its need, and to be under our control and rule. If we cannot do this, we love ourselves too much and are useless in the Lord's work.